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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27350344">Deadbeat</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/varroshabits/pseuds/varroshabits'>varroshabits</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Southern Vampire Mysteries - Charlaine Harris, True Blood (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 01:42:01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,050</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27350344</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/varroshabits/pseuds/varroshabits</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Bill and Sookie get into an argument on the way to Fangtasia. Something or someone else is nearby.<br/>A different version of events from book/season 2.</p>
<p>One shot (at least for now.)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Bill Compton/Sookie Stackhouse</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>26</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Deadbeat</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>                I was in a bad mood to begin with. I don’t appreciate being essentially ordered to use my curse for someone else’s benefit. It’s my own fault a little, I suppose, having struck up a deal with Eric that I’d help him when he needed it in exchange for him turning guilty humans over to human authorities instead of whatever form of punishment a vampire would believe appropriate.</p>
<p>                I’d had to change shifts with one of the other waitresses in order to come do Eric’s bidding; her shift was a day shift and I make way more in tips at night because there are more customers and more people drinking.  And then Bill had to go and tell me about the businesses he had acquired, telling me that I could get clothes or go to dinner and not have to pay, because I was the boss’s woman. I am not a kept woman. That really set my temper off.  I work hard for everything I have, and while it may not be much and it may not be fancy, it’s been well earned and I would not have others looking at me as a gold digger simply because the man I was dating had deep pockets.</p>
<p>                While we were arguing, the car starting acting strangely. The lights on the dash started flashing and it was jerking oddly. Then, it completely stopped.</p>
<p>                “Perfect. The car stalling out on a back road in the middle of nowhere is just the cherry on top of a fan-freaking-tastic day.”</p>
<p>                Bill muttered something under his breath that I didn’t quite hear, but caught enough of it to know he was irritated by my attitude. He got out of the car and popped the hood to look inside it. I don’t think he really knows anything about cars, but that seems to be everyone’s instinct when something goes wrong. When, as expected, he learned nothing from looking at the engine, he picked up his cell phone.</p>
<p>                “We should let Eric know that we will be late,” he said. Unfortunately, wooded areas are not known for their good cell service and he couldn’t get a signal.</p>
<p>                “I’m going to go find a mechanic, or someplace with better cell service to call one.” And then he was gone. Didn’t offer to take me with him, or give me a timeline for how long he would be gone. What a prick. Maybe up until now I was just being ridiculously moody, but I felt certain I was justified in being angry at him leaving me stranded in the middle of the road with no car, no phone, and no way of getting anywhere else.</p>
<p>                I decided to start walking. There was no way I was just going to sit and wait indefinitely while he did whatever he was doing. Based on how long we were in the car, I figured we were a little over halfway to Fangtasia, so I started walking that way instead of back home. The closer I got to the city, the more likely I could find someone that could help me, or a business with a phone that I could use, or even a taxi.</p>
<p>                I walked along the side of the road, the woods to my left. As I walked, I started to get an uneasy feeling; the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Someone was watching me. It would be easy enough to write this feeling off, tell myself it was just my imagination, but I know there are really things that go bump in the night and what they are capable of. Not to mention there are probably lots of things that I don’t even know about or want to know about so long as they leave me in peace.</p>
<p>                Finally, tired of trying to ignore who, or whatever was following me, I turned around, at the same time reaching out my mental feelers (and kicking myself for not doing so sooner.) I found a brain pattern, but it was unlike anything I’d ever experience before. Vampires are voids, I pick nothing up from them; weres and shifters are snarly and hard to read, but if there is contact or they think directly at me I can pick it up.  Humans vary amongst themselves if they are clear broadcasters or think more in pictures or just a jumbled stream of consciousness, but I can always read them. This thing however, was almost like static, but more terrifying. It was shrill and piercing and made my head hurt terribly. I locked my mind back down. I wasn’t going to discover anything that way.</p>
<p>                “Who’s out there?” I called, acting braver than I felt.</p>
<p>                A woman walked out of the trees and stood before me. She was naked and covered in dirt and what appeared to be dried blood. Beside her stood an enormous boar. I wondered if it was a real hog that enjoyed her company or if it was a shifter of some kind.</p>
<p>                “Hello my messenger,” she said with a smile. Normally smiles are nice when greeting someone new, but there was something about hers that screamed danger. Perhaps it was the blood on her teeth, or maybe just her overall facial expression held something wicked. Then again, maybe it was the fact that she had called me her messenger- surely that did not bode well for me.</p>
<p>                <em>Oh Bill, please get back here quickly.</em> I prayed in my mind. I might be angry at him, but I’d prefer facing this creature with him by my side.</p>
<p>                “Messenger?” I asked, trying to stall.</p>
<p>                “Yes, I need you to take a message to the Northman.”</p>
<p>                My crazy smile yanked up on my face as I nodded. “Sure thing.”</p>
<p>                Every instinct in my body screamed for me to run, so I did. I turned and ran as fast as I could, but I could hear her coming up behind me at an incredible pace, laughing as she gained on me. Within a few seconds, she was right behind me and I was consumed by pain. I don’t know what she did to my back, but it felt like it had been torn to ribbons. I lay on the dirt, choking, trying to breathe and the woman stood above me with a wicked grin.</p>
<p>                “Tell the Northman I demand tribute.” She said sternly, then disappeared back into the woods.</p>
<p>                I crawled forward on my belly, trying to get closer to the road. I hoped eventually someone would drive by and see me and get help. I was concerned about the scent of my blood drawing something or someone else to me, but I was in so much pain I just hoped that if they showed up, they would end me quickly.</p>
<p>                Time passed while I lay by the road, probably dying. I wondered what was taking Bill so long to come back. Surely he could feel how afraid I was, how much pain I was in, since I’d had his blood on more than one occasion. I faded in and out as the pain grew and I started to feel sick.</p>
<p>                After an unknown amount of time, I heard tires screech to a halt behind me, in the direction I’d come from.</p>
<p>                “Well this is just peachy. What kind of imbecile just leaves a car in the middle of the road? Fucking idiots.”</p>
<p>                I recognized that irate woman’s voice.</p>
<p>                “Pam?” I croaked out. My voice was barely above a whisper, but I hoped she could hear me anyway, given her heightened senses as a vampire.</p>
<p>                I heard a whoosh of air, and then Pam was standing above me in a deep fuchsia twinset and matching heels.</p>
<p>                “Sookie? What on earth-“ she cut herself off when she saw that state I was in. “Fuck!”</p>
<p>                She took just a moment to think before leaping into action. “This is going to hurt,” she said apologetically, then lifted me under the arms and put me over her shoulder.</p>
<p>                I screamed. I didn’t want to, but it was entirely involuntary. Pam carried me, keeping me as still as she could while still moving quickly. I saw her pass Bill’s car and walk up to a minivan. She opened the side door and slid me across a bench seat. The fact that Pam drove a minivan struck me as really funny. I started to laugh but it hurt so bad it sent me into a choking fit.</p>
<p>                “I will be right back,” she said. She went back into the road and dragged Bill’s car off to the side.               </p>
<p>                While I know that vampires have incredible strength, it always amazes me when I see it put to use, like the time Bill had killed the Rattrays and made it look like a tornado had flipped their trailer and torn up the trees.</p>
<p>                Pam was quickly back in the driver’s seat and flying down the road. It occurred to me that Bill could have moved the car to the side as she had done rather than cause a potential accident, but I guess I was glad he hadn’t, since it had gotten Pam to stop.</p>
<p>                I heard buttons pushing and then Pam speaking. “Eric, call Ludwig. Sookie’s been attacked. Yes, I’ve got her, we’ll be there quickly.”</p>
<p>                I wondered who Ludwig was. Probably not van Beethoven. I also wondered if we’d gotten out of the dead zone or if she just had a better phone than Bill. I started fading in and out again.</p>
<p>                “Sookie, stay with me, we’re almost to Fangtasia and Eric is calling a doctor.” Pam’s voice broke through the fuzziness in my head.</p>
<p>                Pam came to a stop and I hoped we were there; I didn’t have the strength to fight whatever was happening to me much longer. The sliding door opened and instead of Pam standing there, it was Eric.</p>
<p>                “I’m going to lift you and take you inside. I’m sorry if it causes you more pain.” He slid his hands between my legs and under my arms and effortlessly carried me inside while barely jostling me, then carefully deposited me on the couch in his office.</p>
<p>                I was glad it was a Monday at least, since Fangtasia isn’t open to the public on that day and there weren’t a bunch of customers and waitresses milling about.</p>
<p>                Eric squatted down by my head and pushed my hair out of my eyes and stroked it gently. It was an oddly comforting gesture from someone who normally seemed so scary and imposing.</p>
<p>                “I’ve called a special doctor to come help you, she specializes in supernatural injuries and ailments. Can you tell me what happened?”</p>
<p>                I could barely raise my voice above a whisper, but I tried. “She said I was a message to you.”</p>
<p>                He furrowed his brow in confusion.</p>
<p>                “She demands tribute.”</p>
<p>                Realization crossed his face. “Callisto.”</p>
<p>                I didn’t know what that name meant, so I stayed quiet. A few minutes later, a very short woman with a sort of smashed looking face came in.</p>
<p>                “Dr. Ludwig,” Eric greeted her.</p>
<p>                “Vampire,” she replied in a voice that was somehow both gravelly and squeaky. “What happened to your friend here?” She put on some rubber gloves and came over to look at my back.</p>
<p>                “I believe she was attacked by a maenad.” He said.</p>
<p>                She tsked. “Maenads are nasty creatures.” She cut the back of my shirt open and took her gloved finger and stuck it into one of the claw marks in my back.</p>
<p>                The pain was so immense that I momentarily blacked out. When I came back, she was cleaning my back and pouring something over it while discussing treatment with Eric. Pam was standing off to the side watching everything.</p>
<p>                “The poison must come out or she will continue to worsen and die, even if I were to close the wound. We can draw the blood with tubing, but I’m afraid we don’t have that kind of time. Do you have other vampires here? The most efficient way to do it is for you to drink her blood and I will do a transfusion, but it will be mighty unpleasant if you alone take in the poison.”</p>
<p>                “Pam, get Chow.”</p>
<p>                “Will three of us be enough?” He asked.</p>
<p>                The tiny doctor nodded.</p>
<p>                Eric squatted down again. “Sookie, I know this is not what you would want, but it must be done if you wish to not die a most horrible death.”</p>
<p>                I nodded, and he picked up my wrist, licked at the pulse point and gently bit down. He drank for a few moments until the doctor told him to switch. Chow had been filled in by Pam and he came over next and drank from the same puncture wound until Dr. Ludwig said to switch again. Finally Pam drank from my wrist and I was feeling extremely dizzy at the blood loss, but as Pam licked my wrist to heal the wound, an IV was placed into my inner elbow and the transfusion began.</p>
<p>                The poison was no longer in my body and that felt tremendously better, but did nothing for the pain of the claw marks down my back. Dr. Ludwig gave me a shot of pain medicine and poured a healing salve over my back.</p>
<p>                “Will that heal her?” Eric asked.</p>
<p>                “She will have a very large scar, but yes, it will heal. It will need to be cleaned and bandaged to keep out infection though.”</p>
<p>                I felt tears welling in my eyes.  Such a silly and vain thing, but I hated to think of being permanently disfigured.</p>
<p>                “I’m sorry, but my healing abilities only go so far,” she said to me. It was odd laying on a couch and being almost at the same level as someone who was standing. Then she walked away and began talking to Eric about payment.</p>
<p>                I was laying there, waiting for the pain medicine to kick in, just feeling mighty sorry for myself and wondering how I was going to get home, how I was going to work while this healed because so far, I couldn’t even move from my prone position on Eric’s couch.</p>
<p>                Eric came back over and squatted in front of me again. “The strengths she has as a healer do not translate to her bedside manner, I’m afraid,” he said apologetically.</p>
<p>                “Doesn’t matter,” I whispered.</p>
<p>                Eric was quiet for a moment, just absently stroking my hair. “I…I could heal you the rest of the way, if you wish.”</p>
<p>                My eyes shot to his. Was he suggesting what I thought he was?  As if to dissuade any doubt, he held up his wrist and tapped the vein.</p>
<p>                I very much wanted to heal, and quickly, but what would it mean if I allowed Eric to give me his blood? Bill would of course not approve, but was that because it would lessen his claim on me, or because Eric was truly the monster he said he was and it would be dangerous to give him any power over me? Eric certainly wasn’t acting monstrous on this evening. He seemed genuine to me, but I knew Bill would say it was all an act to get into my pants.</p>
<p>                “Bill wouldn’t like it,” I finally said.</p>
<p>                “Yes, where <em>is </em>Bill?” he asked.</p>
<p>                “I don’t know. We were driving and the car died so he said he was going to find a mechanic and he left.”</p>
<p>                Eric furrowed his brow. “Surely he should have found someone by now. And you’ve had his blood, yes?”</p>
<p>                I nodded.</p>
<p>                “Then he would have felt that you were in horrific pain and terrified. Why did he not abandon whatever he was doing to return to you?”</p>
<p>                I had wondered the same thing myself, so hearing it from another person, someone who knew exactly how the blood tie would work, finalized the decision to be healed by Eric.</p>
<p>                “If I take your blood, what exactly will happen?”</p>
<p>                Eric frowned again. “Didn’t Bill explain it to you?”</p>
<p>                “He said it would heal me, increase my health, and give me a higher libido. But then he is extremely wary of any other vampire’s blood getting into me. When Long Shadow bled into my mouth he didn’t seem too concerned because Long Shadow was dead, but he says not to let any other vampire give me their blood because it would give them power over me…” as I was talking things started to click into place. “…but wouldn’t that mean he has power over me? Has he been making me do things?”</p>
<p>                “The blood can’t make you do anything. Even if it could, I suspect your inability to be glamoured would prevent it anyway. It might increase feelings, but it can’t manifest them. For example, you were attracted to Bill before having his blood, yes?”</p>
<p>                I nodded.</p>
<p>                “A tie can be formed between a vampire and a human who have shared blood. As you know, a vampire can feel the strong emotions of a human who has had their blood and find them if necessary. If the human and vampire take each other’s blood enough times, a bond is formed. They will feel very close to one another and can both feel the other’s emotions. They can even send feelings to each other, such as sending calm or peace to one who is in a tense situation. However, feelings cannot be created or falsified, even in a bond.”</p>
<p>                I felt my anger rising. Did Bill just want me to fear all other vampires so he could keep me close and sheltered?</p>
<p>                “I would very much appreciate you healing me,” I said.</p>
<p>                Eric smiled, but it was not a smile of victory like I sort of expected. It was more relief.  He brought his wrist to his mouth, bit down, and then placed it against my mouth.</p>
<p>                I opened my mouth and gratefully swallowed the blood. I noticed that Eric’s blood tasted different than Bill’s. I couldn’t quite put a finger on what it was, but it was sweeter, richer almost. I wondered if humans all tasted different too. As I was drinking, I could feel the wounds on my back closing up.</p>
<p>                After just a few moments, Eric pulled his wrist away and I watched it close back up. I sat up, feeling strangely invigorated. I stretched and sighed in relief. The change from horrific pain to being completely healed was absolutely amazing. Eric stood up and I jumped up and hugged him.</p>
<p>                “Thank you so much!”</p>
<p>                “My pleasure. Especially since that bitch attacked you to get my attention.”</p>
<p>                “I heard someone say maenad. What is that?”</p>
<p>                “Woman who were incredibly devoted to the god Dionysus, so devoted that they became immortal themselves. It’s believed that their immortality came from being possessed by their god and now they demand tribute from other supernaturals who own bars or who otherwise do business in alcohol or pleasure. They feel that since it is their domain, they are owed.”</p>
<p>                “Does she want money? And what happens if you don’t give her what she wants?”</p>
<p>                “She doesn’t want money, she’ll want something ridiculous, large livestock maybe. If she isn’t pleased with my offering she will send her madness and that must be avoided at all costs. A few hundred years ago one of them sent their madness into a vampire and he wiped out an entire town in his frenzy. It took twenty of us to restrain and stake him. I suspect marring you as she did was a warning of what would happen should she be displeased.”</p>
<p>                I shuddered. Just as I was about to ask how I could help, the office door burst open and Bill walked in.</p>
<p>                “So nice of you to finally join us,” I said sarcastically.</p>
<p>                Bill stared at me, then looked furious. “You took his blood! How stupid can you be?”</p>
<p>                “I don’t know, it seemed preferable to dying or being permanently disfigured. And where the hell have you been? Certainly not dying on the side of the road as I was. In fact, you look positively rosy- the pure picture of health.”</p>
<p>                He scowled at me.</p>
<p>                I was so furious with him, that I spoke without thinking. “We’re done Bill. When I needed you most, you were off doing God knows what- obviously feeding on someone else despite your insistence that it was only me or synthetic blood that nourished you. Were you having sex with them too? Whatever it was must have been really important for you to feel me dying and not come back to help me.”</p>
<p>                Bill’s fangs shot down and he actually snarled at me. “You do not know what you are speaking about. You do not get to end things with me.” He grabbed my arm and started pulling me towards the door.</p>
<p>                Eric and Pam, who had prior to this moment been just standing back watching our exchange stepped between Bill with me in tow and the door.</p>
<p>                “Release her. Now.” Eric said.</p>
<p>                “She is mine, I do not answer to you when it comes to my property.”</p>
<p>                I was absolutely horrified by the way Bill was speaking to, and about me. He had never acted this way before. How was this the same man that had charmed my grandmother and made me feel safe and loved?  Was all of that an act?</p>
<p>                “Sookie has stated that she no longer wishes to date you. That means she is no longer yours and you have no say in where she goes or what she does. Or have we resorted back to ways that have been outdated and considered inhumane for hundreds of years?”</p>
<p>                “Sookie belongs to me. With me. I will not watch her taken advantage of by a monster like you.”</p>
<p>                My eyes were welling up with tears because he was holding my arm so hard that it felt like he was going to break it.</p>
<p>                “I’ve seen two monsters tonight, Bill,” I said. “The creature that mauled me when you left me unprotected, and you. Not Eric, not Pam. Not even Chow. They all helped save me.”</p>
<p>                Instead of letting go, he gripped me even harder. I couldn’t keep the tears from falling and I hated it. Eric moved quickly and suddenly Bill had let go. I looked at him and his arm was completely misshapen and limp. Eric had broken Bill’s wrist to force him to let go of me.</p>
<p>                “I want you out of my area before dawn.”</p>
<p>                “The queen will hear about this,” Bill hissed.</p>
<p>                “Wonderful. Tell her how you attacked a human who was under my protection and tried to kidnap her. I’m sure she will be thrilled- it will do great things for our image if things like this are publicized. Chow, make sure he actually leaves.”</p>
<p>                Bill sulked out of the office holding his broken arm with Chow trailing close behind.  I collapsed onto the floor.  Eric collected me in his arms and sat on the couch holding me.</p>
<p>                “He is no threat to you anymore. I have people following him to make sure he leaves. If he doesn’t, or if he returns, he will be imprisoned or killed. I am truly sorry that he was not the man you thought him to be.”</p>
<p>                I nodded and stared at the dark purple bruise on my arm where he had grabbed me.</p>
<p>                “That should heal quickly with the blood you had a bit ago,” Eric said quietly.</p>
<p>                Suddenly something occurred to me and I jumped up. “Wait, we were coming here for a reason in the first place! What did you need me to do?”</p>
<p>                Eric walked over to his desk and pulled out a folder. “A vampire in Dallas has gone missing and I was hoping to hire you to help us find him.”</p>
<p>                “Why would you go through so much to find a vampire in another state?”</p>
<p>                “He is one of their sheriffs, and he is very old. If one like him could be taken or killed it does not bode well for the rest of us.”</p>
<p>                I studied his face as he talked. I sensed there was something more to it than that, although those were good reasons on their own to be concerned.</p>
<p>                “And…he is my maker.”</p>
<p>                Shit.</p>
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